The Doctor and the Alicorn
by Heavens Evangel
Summary: When the Doctor was in Ponyville, he met a strange Alicorn mare by the name of Starstrike. It seemed she was running from something, a past that still, even in this peaceful village, haunted her. Feeling sympathy and intrigue over this mare he decided to take her along. Doctor Whooves/OC
1. Prologue

HeavensEvangel presents….  
A My Little Pony and Doctor Who crossover

The Doctor and the Alicorn  
Rated M for mature audiences

Forty-Seven years ago, first day of Winter, Longest Night of the year, Ponyville…

Ponyville General Hospital

A pale blue Pegasus with a mane of cyan that curled ever so slightly at the ends entered the nursery. Her eyes were like ice, just like her heart as she looked among the new born foals. The curtains had been pulled so no pony could look in and see the events that were about to transpire. She looked at each crib that had the names of the foal's parents on them. She stopped at one in particular. The tag read, Rainwing and Jet Breeze, they had yet to name their newborn. Jet had been too busy worrying about his mate who had passed out during foal rearing to have even notice the foal's gender, the only thing he had seen was an almost black coat and pale blue mane. It was that foal that she had looked upon now. She scowled upon seeing the foal. It was a beautiful little filly with a shiny black coat and soft pale blue hair, there was a small horn that was hard to spot amongst her mane and a pair of tiny wings, an Alicorn child. Her gaze became one of hate as she reached into the crib and wrapped the sleeping foal up. Once the she was wrapped, the Pegasus named Snow Drifter switched the tags with another foal that was born at the same hour. He was a Pegasus, there was no mistaking the wings, but there was no horn their coloration was exactly the same however, which made the switch easy.

Thirty-Seven years ago, a town up north, miles away from Ponyville…

A ten year old Alicorn fidgeted as she moved into the shadows of the trees, hiding from the other ponies that often teased her. Her wing had been broken during one of the class's play times. She sat there sobbing softly, she leaned in and licked at her wing in an attempt to sooth it and stop the blood. The teacher hadn't even intervened or even helped her. Every lick of the wound made her wince. Everypony here hated her so much, and she didn't understand why, not fully. Even her parents hated her. No pony loved her, and from what they constantly told her, no pony would. She was starting to really believe that. As she sat there she had not noticed her father come up.

"There you are you stupid filly." The brown earth pony growled out at her before reaching over and grabbing her by her broken wing with his mouth. He tugged and she cried out in pain.

There were other ponies who heard the cry of pain and looked in their direction. But they just shrugged and went back to whatever it was they had been doing.

A green earth pony came up beside him and glared at the filly. "Stop your whining! We'll give you something to really whine about Starstrike." She leaned down and grabbed the wing with her mouth as well and pulled hard, ripping out the feathers.

Starstrike dug her hooves into the ground and clenched her teeth through the pain as her feathers were ripped. She began to wonder why she ended up with parents like this, or why she was even born this way. What was the purpose of it? Why was she born to suffer, to be tortured by these earth ponies that called themselves her parents? Why did she live to be ridiculed by everypony around her?

"You're a blank flank loser Starstrike." Her mother spat out the feathers in her mouth. "Come." She walked off with her husband in tow, expecting the young Alicorn to follow.

During the night as Starstrike sat in her room in the attic she stared at the night sky, she watched the many constellations from out her window. She had a book open and a pencil, as she watched them she drew them in the book exactly as they were, identifying them. When she had gotten back home she had wrapped her wing up herself. She had to do so much by herself. The poor filly had not a friend in the world, so she wished upon every star in the sky for her freedom. She wished to one day have the courage to run away from what was happening to her. As usual, the night went on and Starstrike stared at the stars, drawing them and learning them, figuring out their names, in the midst of it however, a formation of stars began to form on her flank, a large one followed by three smaller ones. She felt the change and looked down at it. Her eyes widened in surprise and she stood looking at her flanks to see her cutie marks had finally appeared. She trotted in circles in excitement. However her movement of happiness had woken her parents. She hadn't realized her mistake until after she was tackled to the cold hard wood floor. She looked up to see them both glaring at her, yelling at how much noise she had been making. She tried to crawl away from them, tears forming in her icy blue eyes as they bounded on her and the abuse began all over again.

A month ago…

Starstrike had just turned forty-seven, she was a beautiful Alicorn mare and had grown up with a large heart and open mind, despite how terribly abused she had been throughout her filly hood . She hadn't expected to get anything for her birthday, she never did, no pony had ever wished her a happy one so feelings and a sense of being loved and appreciated were foreign to her, despite how kind she had always been to the ponies that had downright tortured the poor mare because of how different she was from them. So when she walked into the house to tend to the two elderly and crippled earth ponies, she hadn't expected to find a pamphlet on the ground advertising for Ponyville. She picked it up in her mouth and brought the bags to the table. Once they were set down she looked at the contents of the pamphlet. The words read:

Come to Ponyville  
Where Everypony is Somepony Special

She stared at the words for a long time when she heard the voice of her father calling to her from his room upstairs. She sighed softly and set the pamphlet down. "I'll be right up." She picked up the bags and went into the kitchen to cook their meals. Her mind wandered back to the pamphlet. _I was born there, but I've never gotten to see the place before. I should go…_ Her mind worked on a way to get away.

Since her parents had become crippled in their old age, she had become all but a slave to her abusers. She shuddered as her mind went back to all the beatings, and she wondered why she just didn't give all of it back to them in turn. She shook it off, she knew why, because she was better than that, she wouldn't stoop down to that level, she wouldn't let herself become anything like them. She wanted to love and be loved in return, and being like them would never give her that. In her heart she knew full well that no pony in this town would ever come to love her. They all knew to hate her, so the only choice she had was to start over somewhere else.

She looked down at the meal and took it up to them. In her mind she was plotting her escape. No more wishing, no more waiting for the story book Prince Charming to come save her. Oh how she wished he would have come, she had seen him in her mind's eye quite often. He was a charming brown earth pony with bright starry blue eyes that could suck anypony down into their depths, his mane was a darker brown and his cutie mark was of an hourglass. Many times had she seen him, dreamed of him swooping in and taking her away. Her heart thudded in her chest as she reached the room and set the tray down.

As usual she had to feed and bathe them and help them get around their room and other places, this was no life, not for her. And frankly she was tired of it. So when night came she went up to her little room in the attic and packed up what was important to her. She clenched her jaw as she looked over to the things around her. She grabbed a top hat she had bought a long time ago. It was black and had frilly lace with netting that came down and covered part of her face. She reached and put it on, carefully pinning it into her mane so it wouldn't fall off and would cover her horn under it. Her left wing twitched with nervousness as she snuck out of the house that had been well… it was never really home. She knew that once she was out of the town that she would feel more at ease about it all, finally free.

It took hours to get out of the town and ultimately into the woods. When she stopped to rest in a clearing she closed her eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. Yes, she had left them to fend for themselves, but didn't they deserve it? How much longer was she going to wait to be free? Not anymore. She was out, and she was free, her own mare. Her left wing twitched with nervousness again. Maybe one day she'll lose that nervous tick. As she sat there, she saw the vision again, the handsome brown earth pony, staring right at her with a huge goofy smile. It brought a smile to her face as she fell asleep. That smile was the only thing that kept her going, and now maybe she'll meet the Stallion from her visions.

Present day…

It took a whole month, a whole month to travel to Ponyville from her village. But she knew that the end result would be worth it. The visions of the earth pony had gotten stronger, strong enough that she had caught glimpses of adventures and a strange life. The moment she stepped foot into Ponyville she had collapsed from exhaustion.

It was hours before she awoke in what seemed like a bakery, leaning over her was a pink pony with a fluffy pink mane. "Hi there! Welcome to Ponyville! I saw you faint and I brought you here! Are you alright? Who are you? What's your name?"

She reached up and rubbed her face. "It's… Starstrike… where am I?"

"This is sugar cube corner! It's a bakery with the most delicious awesome to die for treats! Oh and I'm Pinkie Pie!" She bounced up and down around her and grinned ear to ear at the mare that was lying across a booth seat.

She sat up and looked around her, the smells were delicious.

"You know your hat fell off and got ruined in some mud when you fell, so I took it to my friend Rarity to fix it up while you were asleep. It looked pretty tattered."

Star froze at that moment and reached up to feel that the horn was visible. Her left wing twitched in nervousness.

"You know it's awesome that you're an Alicorn, I bet you can do all sorts of cool stuff! I envy you. I'm just a earth pony! But I throw the most awesome parties! Hey hey! That reminds me I have to throw you an awesome welcome party too!"

"A… party… I…I've never been to one of those before."

She gasped loudly. "NEVER? THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST PARTY EVER IN THE HISTORY OF ALL MY PARTIES THEN!" She jumped up and down excitedly and hopped off to the kitchens to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that their guest was awake.

When she left, Star couldn't help but smile brightly. She felt welcomed and definitely more at ease. She was really going to like it there.


	2. You know what this calls for? A PARTY!

**Chapter 1: You know what this calls for? A PARTY!**

Starstrike had been introduced to many ponies at this party that Pinkie Pie threw for her at Sugar Cube corner. She had never been around so many friendly ponies before, but she still felt awkward and guarded. Something was missing here, but she couldn't place what it was. Every now and then when a pony got too close to her comfort zone her wing would twitch, she tried her hardest to will the nervousness away but found that nothing she thought of would help.

Somewhere in the crowd she caught a glimpse of a brown earth pony that oddly looked like the one from her vision. Feeling her heart pound with something other than pure nervousness she started to approach, but several ponies got in her way to greet her. By the time she reached the other side of the room he was already gone. She gave a quizzical look, wondering if she had been seeing things, hallucinating because of the new and strange environment.

A white unicorn with a curled purple mane came up towards Starstrike with a round hat box. "Hello there my dear, you must be Starstrike, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." She smiled and sat the box down between them. "My name is Rarity, Pinkie Pie told me a bit about you, but I was definitely not expecting to see such radiance!" She smiled brightly at the blushing mare. "You really are magnificent! And you have such taste in hats. Unfortunately the hat you had was so damaged that I could not fix it."

Star sighed a little. She had really liked that hat.

"No fears! I replicated it for you. It is almost an exact copy! Only I made this one with a clip built in so you can easily pin it to your mane!" She trotted in place with excitement as she opened the box and out came a beautiful black top hat. It was embellished with a black bow and netting that came down over the face ever so slightly. Among the bows were pale blue and white flowers, an improvement from the original, the pin was clear so it would be out of sight in her mane. The black hat was covered in black lacey fabric that definitely added to its appeal.

Star was left surprised, pleasantly so. No pony had ever gone through such lengths to do something nice for her. First the party and now this lovely hat, she felt the tears well up and she reached to rub her eyes.

Rarity looked at her concerned. "Do you not like it dear? I can always make you another. Oh please don't cry."

She shook her head. "Oh no, I love it, it's just no one has ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you so much." She smiled brightly at her and bowed her head in thanks.

Rarity took that as an opportunity to put it on for her. The horn was tucked safely inside and made sure the pin had took to her mane carefully. She leaned in and whispered to her. "Don't be ashamed of who you are sweetheart, you're a beautiful and a magnificent looking pony. Don't let anypony tell you differently you hear?" She leaned back to look at her work, smiling softly to the surprised mare.

Star wondered if it was that easy to tell that her self esteem was lower than the freezing point of water. All she could do was nod, but she knew that it was easier said than done.

"Go enjoy yourself, get to know everypony. After the party we'll have a little chat." She smiled and trotted off, leaving Star all alone to be bombarded by other ponies that seemed really interested in the newcomer.

Her left wing twitched as she was bombarded with questions.

In a corner, a brown earth pony was watching the events transpire around him. Pinkie Pie had dragged him into Sugar Cube corner saying that she was having a party for a newcomer. He didn't have any time to say no. Heavens no, Pinkie Pie could be so demanding when it came to her parties, everypony had to come, regardless of what they were doing at the time, especially for a super special welcoming party, as Pinkie had put it as she had dragged him into the bakery.

He had been talking to Derpy earlier in the shop when he noticed the new mare heading over towards them in curiosity, for some reason he knew that this was not the time or place that he should meet her officially. So when several ponies moved off in front of her, he apologized to Derpy, said his goodbyes quickly and disappeared into the crowd. Nothing had ever made him feel so strongly to just go as quickly as he had, but a voice in his head had told him this was not the moment. He didn't fully understand it but, he never really understood much about himself to begin with.

So now here he was in the corner, watching the mare being spoken to by a group of ponies. He noted the wing twitch and identified it as some sort of nervous twitch. _My goodness, they're all crowding around her. She must feel very uncomfortable._ He peeked around him and hoped that somepony would actually take care of it. He knew he could not intervene at this point in time. _I need to get back to the TARDIS, something about this pony is off and I can't quite put my finger on it. Why are all my senses telling me to stay away from her right now?_ He frowned a little and managed to sneak out, however he couldn't help but peek back towards her with curiosity. _No, not the time._ He turned away and trotted off.

By the end of the night, when everypony had gone, Star had met quite a few ponies. All of them had been beyond kind to her. She was sitting in a corner trying to come out of her shock from being bombarded by so much kindness. Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had stayed behind to clean up after the party. When she came out of her shock she looked at the group and stood up to help as well. "Ah… um, thank you for the party Pinkie, it was my first ever."

Pinkie excitedly turned to her and gave her a huge smile. "It's no problem Star! Oh! Oh! Tell me when your birthday is and we can have a party for then too!" She bounced up and down in circles around the Alicorn.

"Um well, it… it was a month ago… the first day of winter…" She said softly as she followed Pinkie with her eyes.

"Aww I'm late on it then. Well, no worries! It'll be even bigger and even more awesome then the one we had today!" She hopped away to the trash bag to drag it out to the bin.

_Bi…Bigger than this one? I… I don't think that could even be possible. _But of course, she didn't know Pinkie very well. Everything was possible with that mare.

Twilight Sparkle went over to her and smiled a little. "So, Starstrike, I didn't get to really talk to you much at the party." She smiled at her more. "Are you from Canterlot?"

"Canter…lot… no I'm not, I came from a village far up north. It's pretty secluded up there."

"Far north…" Twilight thought on it, she mentally went through a map of Equestria. The only town she could think of north of Ponyville was a village of closed minded ponies who refused to have anything to do with Celestia … simply because she was an Alicorn. She frowned when it dawned on her. Now she was aware of why the mare's shy and nervous behavior around so many ponies was about. She nodded sadly. "I see, well then, you're in Ponyville now, and we're happy to have you here."

Starstrike looked at her and nodded softly. "Yes… thank you." She gave a small smile.

Fluttershy was still kind of shy around her, the mare intimidated her a bit, but so far she seemed alright.

Rarity went to her and nodded a little. "So, I assume you have no place to stay while you're here in Ponyville?"

"Ah… you're correct, I don't. Seeing as I just got here and all."

Rarity opened her mouth to extend an invite to her when Pinkie Pie came bounding back into the room. "Of course she's got a place to stay! She's going to share a room with me here at Sugar Cube Corner!" She hopped around her. "Well at least until she can find a place of her own at least." She grinned brightly and looked at her. "Right?"

"Um yeah sure…I guess." Her wing twitched again.

"This'll be so fun!" She squealed and hopped away.

Rarity shook her head in sympathy. "Good luck to you with that then. I must be heading back to my shop now. I'm sure I'll see you soon." She smiled softly as she made her leave.

"I… I have to go too, I have to tend to my sweet little angel bunny. He's probably waiting for me to bring him some carrots." Fluttershy smiled sweetly, following after Rarity.

Rainbow Dash had been examining Star's wings in awe. "You must get some awesome speed with those things!"

She looked at her. "Ah… well… I guess… I've never used them much…"

"What! How can you have wings and not use them! Don't tell me you walk everywhere. That's a huge waste of such awesome looking wings."

"Well I…"

Twilight frowned. "Rainbow, leave her alone."

"But look at her! She looks so awesome! And her wings are huge! She must get past even my record! If anything she could be a Wonderbolt if she wanted to! They would _kill _to have a pony with wings like that, can you imagine how much more awesome their shows would be with-"

"Rainbow Dash! Cut it out!" Twilight practically yelled at the top of her lungs, cutting Rainbow off effectively.

Star gave her a thankful look.

Applejack went over and shook her head. "Rainbow Dash, you should know better. Please excuse her Miss Star. Rainbow knows how to run off her mouth when she gets excited about something."

"It's alright… really, no harm done." She laughed nervously.

"Let's get Rainbow, We both got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, we'll see you later." She butted her head against Rainbow Dash, forcing her out of the place.

Twilight Sparkle turned towards Starstrike. "You know, I'd like to get to know you better Starstrike. Come by the Library tomorrow okay?"

"Ah… sure… I think I'd like that." She smiled.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow at noon." She turned towards Pinkie Pie. "I'll see you around Pinkie." Twilight left them alone.

Once alone Pinkie yawned and grinned sleepily at Starstrike. "Well come on! We're going to have a sleep over!" She trotted off, leading Starstrike to the room they would share together."

Star gave a smile and looked around her. Yep she was really going to like it here. Well as soon as she could get over the culture shock. Everypony here had proved that the slogan on the pamphlet was true. She hoped desperately that it wouldn't change from one day to the next as she followed behind Pinkie Pie.


	3. Library

Chapter 2: Library

Starstrike awoke early in the morning and helped the Cakes in the bakery as thanks for allowing her to stay. They and Pinkie Pie were surprised that she knew how to bake. Of course Star wasn't about to tell them the sort of life she lived before coming here. She refused to let anypony feel sorry for her. This was a new life and Star was going to live it well.

She passed the time with the Cakes and Pinkie Pie, looking forward to going to the library and spending some time with Twilight Sparkle.

A few minutes before noon, Star got directions from Pinkie Pie on how to get to the library. With her new hat pinned on, she trotted through Ponyville square, taking in the sights around her. Just a few feet away from the library, a vision flooded her eyes. It was strong and seemed very real, as if she were right there in the moment.

He was staring at a round machine that was in the center of what looked like some sort of ship. The design was so odd. A large round glass tube was extended from the machine to the ceiling. He gave the most handsome, cheery smile as he trotted around it and rambled on excitedly about something Star didn't understand. She found herself following him around the room, watching his jittery movements. She was quite surprised that he was such an energetic one.

Star snapped out of it and shook her head. _That was so strange, it was almost like I was right there! That excited smile… those eyes…_ She felt the heat rise to her face and shook her head again. She got to the Library and heard the clock in the square chime for noon, she was right on time. But when she got to the door there was a note.

Dear Star,

I am so, so sorry. Something came up and I was called off. Feel free to come into the library and read some books. I should be back by night fall. If you need help ask Spike.

Twilight

Star sighed softly but nodded her head in defeat. She had been looking forward to talking to Twilight about the things she knew. She slowly entered the library and looked at the row upon row of books in total awe. Actual books were rare for her to have seeing how nopony really welcomed her. Her wings extended and shook with uncontained excitement. She trotted towards one of the shelves and looked the many books over. She had no idea where to start. So many books on stars and constellations! She felt her body shake as she flew up to gather some of them. She set them in a neat little pile before gracefully landing. She sat on the floor and began to read each and every book thoroughly.

Spike had come down from the room he shared with Twilight in the middle of Starstrike's marathon reading. He looked at her curiously and went over to her.

Star by this time had taken off the hat and had her wings folded neatly at her sides. She looked like she was really enjoying herself.

Spike cleared his throat as he neared her. "Hi there."

She jumped up a little and turned towards him, it took a few minutes for her to calm her nerves. "Ah he-hello. You must be Spike."

He nodded. "Yep, that's me, the one and only Spike, Twilight's number one right hand assistant!" He announced proudly. "And you've got to be Starstrike. Twilight said you'd be around here today."

She nodded. "Yes, she invited me over."

He nodded as well and smiled. "Is there anything you need?"

"Huh oh no, I'm all good here, thank you." She smiled.

"Alright…" He looked a little disappointed that he wasn't needed. Every time Twilight went with that weird brown pony she always left him behind. She said it was to give him a much needed break. A though came to mind. "Ah you've been here since noon right? At least let me go pick us up something to eat from the bistro."

She looked up at him and nodded. "A…alright Spike, thank you." She smiled, her stomach had growled then and she laughed nervously. She must have been there for quite some time. She looked at the clock. It was already, yikes, 3'o clock.

"I'll be back before you know it!" He walked off, leaving her alone in the library.

Star went back to reading. It was almost a half hour later when Spike returned with a bag of treats. She took a break from the reading to eat what he brought. "Thanks Spike, I didn't realize just how hungry I really was."

"No problem, anything for a friend." He chomped down on the ruby before looking up at her with a grin.

"A… friend?"

"Yeah! Any friend of Twi's is a friend of mine." He paused and grumbled, "except for that Doctor, he's always taking her somewhere and leaving me behind."

"Doctor?"

He frowned. "Yeah." He sat up straight and changed his voice to a more northern accent. "I'm the Doctor, simply the Doctor. Timey wimey wibbly wobbly spacey wacey blah blah blah."

Star blinked and laughed. "You sound jealous! Maybe they went out on a date or something." She smiled, but it was a weary one, something in her sunk a bit but she was unsure why.

"Me? Jealous! BAH! Twi's a good pony, but Rarity… oh… oh Rarity is the only pony for me~" He swooned as his eyes turned into giant hearts.

Starstrike wondered what sort of pit fall she landed herself in with this dragon as he went on and on about how Rarity was absolute perfection and how no pony, not even the Princesses of Canterlot would ever compare to the class that Rarity possessed.

As he was going on and on, and Starstrike was partially tuning out what he was saying, there was a soft knock on the door, hardly audible. Her ear twitched slightly and she turned toward the door slightly, listening out for any more sounds. It was then that the door slowly opened and Fluttershy poked her head in.

"Um hello? I hope I'm not interrupting you Twilight, it's just I need help, that is, if you don't mind." She spoke softly.

Spike noticed her mid rant, his face colored and he went over to her. "Hey Fluttershy, Twilight's not back yet."

"Oh, I, I see." She looked worried.

Starstrike stood and went over. "What's the matter Fluttershy? Maybe I can help?"

"Oh w-would you?" She looked at her hopefully. "It's just… Angel Bunny went missing and no matter how much I call him he won't come. I'm not sure what to do."

Star nodded. "Yes, sure. Of course I'll help you Fluttershy." She gave her a soft smile. "Where was the last time you saw him?"

"O...Oh come with me." She turned around and trotted off, Star and Spike followed closely behind. Fluttershy brought them to a clearing where Angel Bunny was last seen. "I asked the other animals but they haven't seen her either, I'm so very worried."

"Don't worry Fluttershy, we'll find him. I promise." Star gave her a smile and looked around. "I'll head this way, Spike you go that way, Fluttershy, go look around this area again."

They nodded and all went their separate ways. "If I were a bunny… where would I hide?" Star asked herself as she walked near the Everfree forest. As she went a bit deeper, her horn glowed softly with a blue aura, lighting the path. _It's so dark in here, how could Fluttershy live so close to such a scary place?_ She couldn't help but shudder as she walked. _I could try a tracking spell of sorts that might help. _The horn sparkled as she performed the spell. A line formed from her horn in a winding path, one that she followed for what felt like forever. _He got pretty far, probably scared to death._ She came up upon a cave at the end and looked around. _Why would he have gone here?_ She sniffed around at the air and went towards a rock; she gave it a tentative lick. _Tastes like bear, did I cast the spell wrong?_ She wondered as she peeked around. She never really used her magic except for simple chores when her parents weren't around. They had forbidden her to use it. So she often snuck around the house just to get some practice in.

There was a rustle somewhere behind her and she turned her gaze to a bush. _I don't think a bear would hide in a bush that small… I could be wrong though and could be in a lot of trouble._

A white fluffy head poked out and two very scared black eyes looked at her.

"Are you Angel?" She slowly went over.

Angel Bunny nodded and came out from hiding.

"Thank goodness, Fluttershy is very worried about you, c'mon then on to my back you." She kneeled down, allowing the rabbit to jump up onto her back. "You may want to hold on." She unfolded her wings, feeling the rabbit latch onto her mane. She then took off into the sky, managing to get out of the forest. She looked around at the expanse of land that was the Everfree Forest and shivered. She was glad she did not come here through there. She flew back to the clearing and called out to both Spike and Fluttershy, allowing Angel off her back.

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh Angel bunny I was so worried, where have you been?" She latched onto the rabbit and hugged much to his dislike.

"He was in the forest, by some caves… bear caves I believe. Poor thing was terrified."

"Thank you so much Starstrike, I wouldn't have found him if it weren't for you."

"You're welcome Fluttershy. I should head back to the library now, Twilight might be back."

She nodded her thanks again.

Star and Spike left the clearing and went back to the library.

Spike looked around and frowned. "It's already getting pretty late and she's still not back."

Star checked the clock and sighed, she told the Cakes she'd be back by six in the least. "Well I should head back then. I guess I can always see her tomorrow." She turned to the books she left on the floor and went to go put them back when Spike stopped her.

"I'll take care of those, you head on, I'll tell Twi to meet up with you tomorrow when she gets back ok?"

She nodded. "Alright then Spike, I'll see you around then." She smiled and left, heading back home. As she headed off her mind wandered to Twilight and this… mysterious Doctor. When she came back to the bakery she washed up and ate with the little family and told them about her little adventure in the forest. Pinkie and the twins looked excited to hear about it, the Cakes on the other hand had been terrified as she accounted how she went in alone. But even as she spoke about it, her mind couldn't help but wonder about that Doctor, even as she readied for bed with Pinkie Pie her mind had been on the pony she had never seen or met before, at lease she believed she never saw him. She wondered to herself if she would ever get to meet that mysterious stallion. As she closed her eyes she saw a flash of a smile and bright blue eyes staring down at her in such an amused expression. The Prince was toying with her in her dreams again it seemed. Her mouth twitched at the corners as she rolled over to sleep, curled up in the bed, Pinkie on the other side. As she drifted off she could hear his excited banter and jovial laughing, music to this abused mare's ears. It wasn't long before she fell asleep to it's sweetness.


	4. Changelings

Chapter 3: Changelings

It had been a few months since she arrived in Ponyville and made so many friends. Since moving there, she and Pinkie had gotten pretty close especially since they shared a room together. She had even gotten very fond of the others, especially Twilight. They shared so much information of all sorts of different things. Star showed Twilight her journals that were filled with drawings of different star formations and how they moved from month to month. And Twilight shared with her the vast amount of knowledge she had from the books she studied.

It was a warm day in May, the mane six were out on a picnic and Starstrike and Spike were in the library doing some work. Twilight had invited her to come with them, but she gracefully declined the offer, there was something she noticed in the sky last night that she didn't notice before and she wanted to investigate it. Spike had stayed behind with her to help, as much as he would have liked to have been around Rarity, he didn't want to be around gossiping mares. As they worked on looking up what it was, a green poof of magical fire spontaneously erupted from Spike's mouth. A scroll popped out and fell to the floor, followed by another. He coughed and picked them up. Putting one under his arm he opened the other and skimmed through it, his eyes growing wider and wider with each sentence he read. He rolled it up and went to the other.

She turned to him. "What is it?"

"A wedding invitation! I have to go get this to Twilight right away!" He turned to run off and skidded to a halt at the door. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Ah no it's okay, I'll stay here. That orb I saw in the sky last night has me feeling a bit off about it." She gave him a smile. "You go on without me, see if you can sneak one of those sandwiches away on your way back."

He laughed a little and winked. "Will do Star, see ya later!" He ran off, closing the door behind him.

Star wondered about the wedding and shook her head, the timing was… strange. She just couldn't put her hoof on it. Maybe it was a coincidence but in her time in Ponyville, well there were _no_ coincidences.

It was almost an hour later before Twilight came into the library, pretty ticked off, Spike following after her. "But Twilight, you should be happy for him."

"HE COULD HAVE TOLD ME IN PERSON!" She practically screamed as she walked angrily into the library.

Star looked up from her book and blinked. "Twilight? What's the matter?" She stood and went to her, then butted her head against hers in affection.

She pouted and looked up at her with teary eyes as she sunk down to the floor. "My brother's getting married to some _Princess_."

"And you're upset because he didn't tell you about it." She frowned and sat with her, opening a wing and wrapping her in it. "It's okay Twilight. I'm sure it will be fine. I bet the princess is nice." She thought on it. "Hmm…. You spent a lot of time in the castle as a filly, maybe it's somepony you know."

"I never thought on it that way… but I don't recognize the name at all."

"Maybe she went by another name?" She offered as she tried to comfort her.

"Possible…" She frowned. "All of us are going to Canterlot tomorrow, we've been asked to help prepare the wedding. I just feel so odd about all this, like it's all so sudden."

Star wouldn't mention that she inwardly felt the same way. "I'm sure you guys will have a good time, but I do agree with you. He should have told you first."

Twilight turned to her, realizing she wasn't mentioned in the letter. She frowned. "I'm inviting you."

"Huh?"

"Yes, you are my plus one." She grinned. "My friends don't see where I'm coming from but, you understand my concerns. Besides, this will be good for you. You'll finally get to see Canterlot first hand."

She nodded. "I did want to go see it. Thank you for the invite Twilight."

"No problem, go home and pack up what you need, we leave first thing tomorrow on the Ponyville express."

Star nodded and stood folding her wing. "Alright, I'll see you in the morning then." She smiled and turned to Spike, giving him a weary look. She was concerned about this whole situation. It sounded too fishy and she knew it was nagging at Twilight as well.

He frowned and nodded silently, holding the door open for her.

She silently walked out and headed home, where Pinkie Pie was excitedly telling the Cakes about it.

"Hey Hey Star! Guess what!" She bounced around happily.

"There's a wedding in Canterlot."

"Heeeyyy how did you know?"

"I was at Twilight's when the letters came."

"Oh! Heehee silly me." She smiled. "The girls and I got invited."

Star didn't say anything to her.

"Ohmygosh! You weren't invited you so totally have to go!"

"I am going Pinkie, Twilight invited me as her plus one."

"Oh goodie! You're going to **love** Canterlot! It's so beautiful there!" Pinkie began to ramble as Star went up the stairs to the room they shared. She hopped up the stairs, following her to the room. She started to pack the essentials, which included the party cannon. Star blinked, she wondered how the heck she got that thing into a suitcase that small, but shook her head. She had learned over time not to ask those sorts of questions of Pinkie Pie, she was completely unpredictable. She packed a small bag and set a space for her hat. The ponies in Ponyville had been very nice to her, but that still didn't mean others would accept her outside of this place.

It took a whole day to reach Canterlot and they arrived in the morning. Star had her hat pinned on and walked out a bit after the girls, looking around the place in awe. It was truly beautiful. Pinkie was right about that. She was glad she had acquired Mr. Cake's camera, she would take plenty of pictures to share with them. She snapped a few as she followed them Spike was up a head of her.

It didn't take them too long to reach the castle where they met Shining Armor. Star felt there was something just a tad bit odd about the groom so she stayed a little ways away from the group. She felt like an eighth wheel of sorts. She explored the grounds a bit on her own before Twilight found her later on in the garden.

She seemed a lot more excited than when she first arrived. "Hey Star, you were right! It was somepony I knew!"

Star nodded and went over towards her. "See, what I tell you?" She smiled, but it was odd, everything seemed normal on the surface, but she felt there had to be something else.

"I'll take you to the dining room, we're about to have dinner and you can finally meet the Princesses." She grinned as she led her off.

Star shifted uncomfortably and adjusted her hat, she had yet to take it off, and probably wouldn't for awhile. Meeting two other Alicorn like herself felt odd. But then again, they weren't like her at all. They were far older and wiser than she could ever hope to be.

When she was introduced to the two acting Princesses she felt something spark inside her, a sort of familiarity, but she pegged it to be the fact that they were similar, nothing more. She found she rather liked them both, but Celestia was a bit intimidating. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a bit higher on the ladder then her sister Luna. Starstrike found herself conversing more with the younger princess, mainly about star formations and her findings. There was an undeniable instant bond between them.

The week of the wedding left Star a bit weary, constantly watching the skies for the object she had seen in it the day before she was invited here. She spent every day exploring the shops while the others did the preparations. The day before the wedding rehearsal Twilight came to her looking troubled. She was upset at the others, none of them believed her when she said that there was something seriously wrong with Cadance. She listened to her speak, allowing her to rant.

"You believe me don't you Star! Please tell me you do!" She looked desperate.

Star nodded. "When I met her the other day, she didn't seem like everything you made her out to be. There's something wrong with that mare. She's putting on an obvious show in front of the others but I'm not sure why."

"She's doing something to him Star, I know it! I saw her!"

"I don't doubt you at all Twilight. Did you talk to the Princesses about this?"

"No… I haven't…" She admitted. "But I don't think they'd believe me anyway. Tomorrow is the wedding rehearsal and I just don't know what to do. I can't let him marry her. She's up to no good!"

Star sighed. She wasn't sure what she could possibly tell her. She reached over and petted her softly, trying to calm her.

It was late the next day and Star wondered where Twilight was, she heard from the others what happened at the rehearsal and was hoping to talk to her. She waited all night and still there was no sign of Twilight. It was odd, but no pony else seemed to be too concerned. Frankly Star found it odd. She stayed the whole night looking for her, but there was no sign of her at all, it had her worried.

The night went on and Star spent it searching for Twilight to no avail. She frowned and sat down in the square, there ponies heading out of their houses for the day. The wedding would be any moment and she still could not find Twilight. She rested her head down on the table. She found her eyes drooping from the lack of sleep.

It wasn't until the sound of screams reached her ears hours later into her sleep that she woke. Her eyes snapped open and she saw them. The pink dome that had been surrounding Canterlot had shattered and these dark creatures had swooped in and where running after screaming ponies. She stared at the strange hole filled black colored winged creatures, she wasn't sure what the heck was going on but she knew she had to run and hide. She stood up quickly and ran, her hat had fallen off in the commotion, but she was too busy running away to realize it. She ended up surrounded by a large group of them. She grit her teeth a little and looked around her. She had been completely surrounded. Regardless of what she would have tried to escape, they were close enough to easily jump on her to stop her.

Not too far away in an alleyway the Doctor was watching the events unfold, he had just left Carrot Top and Ditzy in a safe place. He frowned when he saw the mare surrounded by the lot. It didn't look like they were going to attack her. He noticed she was an Alicorn and wondered if she was possibly apart of the royal family. As far he knew the royal family was the only one who had Alicorn in them. It was a bit odd, but he can tell she was trying to get away. He pointed the sonic screwdriver and ran forward towards the group, helping to open a path for her. "Well hello there, nice weather we're having." He grinned. "I think it's time you ran now miss."

She blinked at the brown earth pony and nodded in thanks before bolting off in the direction of the path he had opened up. It didn't take long for him to follow off after her, a grin on his face. "Well beautiful day for a lot of running now. I'm the Doctor by the way, simply the Doctor."

She looked back towards him. "My name is Starstrike. Or just Star is fine." She said as she ran alongside him. As they ran the creatures followed them in the streets. She skidded to a halt when a group just ahead turned around towards them and ran at them. She froze in place. They stopped and looked up before taking off into flight, heading towards the castle.

"Okay... either there's been a change in the plan, or they have a good reason to be running from somethin' even more hazardous." The Doctor gulped, trying to stay to the side of the onslaught of Changelings.

She pressed her lips together and ducked away to avoid them. The sounds of fighting could be heard from a distance in the direction the mob was currently running to. "I don't want to know where they're going..." she couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what was happening.

He peered out from behind a barrel, and let out a small sigh. "Sounds like that racket is comin' from the Castle. Think we should get a closer look...?" He grinned just a bit to Starstrike, whispering across the alley to the box she was under.

She poked her head out and looked at him, a serious look in her eyes. "Are you serious?" She seemed to contemplate it as she looked around her. "Well...I'm curious to know what they're up to and why they're even here. So I guess that's a yes then." She got out from under the box and looked at him before peeking around the wall to see if there were any around that would give them trouble.

The coast appeared to be clear, and he adjusted his glasses before hurrying along to the path that would lead to the castle. He saw a few guards gooed in the distance, but held his hoof in front of Starstrike as they once again crept into the shadows. There were still changelings around them, and nothing they could do to help them. In the meantime, he heard a faint cackling laughter as he gazed up at the castle.

She shuddered at the sound and looked at him. "I guess that's where we're going then Doctor?" She asked him softly, shaking out her tail. Her left wing twitched a little in agitation and nervousness as she turned her head to look back in the direction they would be heading in.

"Naturally. Where there's danger, there's fun." The Doctor grinned, happy, but almost in a slightly insane thrill seeker sort of way. He shook his tail as well, from excitement, as he began to head for the castle. He turned to look over his shoulder to her. "You can run, if you want. It would be safer than stickin' with me. I'll go where there's trouble."

She shook her head. "Somehow I think it may be safer with you." She trotted alongside him.

"Glad to have you, Miss Starstrike." He flashed her a brilliant smile as they made their way to the castle. Luckily since the changelings mistook her for their Queen, they seemed to be left alone.

Star was glad they were being left alone as they navigated their way up to the castle, feeling just a tad bit bolder as they got closer to the sound. The sound was coming from inside the throne room, which made her feel a tad bit weary. "What should we do now Doctor?"

He waited by the door, just peering through the crack at the inside. He kept quiet, just sneaking a few peeks at the room. There were already six ponies in there, talking with a bizarre creature that was black, and had a dark blue mane, with humming wings.

She tried to get a look and watched the events that were going on inside. "Swiss cheese legs..."

The Doctor had to keep himself from snorting in laughter. "She must be the leader, but Celestia's been neutralized... Who're the two ponies on the altar...?"

She looked closely. "The bride and groom, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor..." She whispered to him. She had met them briefly before, but she thought there was something off about her. Thinking about on it, it was then that things were beginning to make sense.

"So, suppose I should ask... you Alicorns... aren't you all of Royal Blood...? Isn't it like a very special breed?" The Doctor mumbled as he observed the commotion in the other room. The Queen moved to the side, looking around outside, then back towards the two on the Altar.

She looked at him and shook her head. "No, it's very possible for two very normal ponies to have an Alicorn foal," she whispered back to him. "As long as it's somewhere along the blood line, it can pop up in any generation."

He nodded softly, more or less just curious about it, but decided to take her answer at face value. "Alright then. So, I don't suppose you've got any brilliant ideas about how to stop a megalomaniac mare like that...?" He chuckled a bit nervously, shooting her a quick glance. True, the sonic screwdriver might help a bit, but stunning her wasn't a permanent solution.

"I don't think this is something we should intervene in..." Her eyes were narrowed as she watched. She could hear Twilight whispering to Cadance. "It seems Shining Armor is under a spell... if anything could break him out of it, it's his true love."

The Doctor actually chuckled a bit at this and rolled his eyes, ever the skeptic. "I'll grant you ponies the power of friendship, but now you're sayin' True Love has actual force as well? I find that a bit surreal. Perhaps if I catch her off guard with the screwdriver...?"

"You shouldn't underestimate love Doctor." She gave a sad smile. "Although some of us will never have the pleasure of knowing it, it does exist." She turned her head to look at him. "And love can make strange, powerful things happen."

"And some of us had it a lifetime ago... only to have it torn away..." He mumbled softly, still glancing inside as suddenly a large shockwave blasted the Changeling Queen right past them and out of a window, along with her brood out of the city. The Doctor stood there with slightly widened eyes and a bit of a shocked look. "Ooookay. I stand corrected... true love has about as much force as a sonic pile driver..."

She laughed a little before peeking in. She heard Celestia speak to Twilight, apologizing for doubting her judgment and the cheers that went along afterwards.

The Doctor softly nudged her with a hoof. "Perhaps we should scuttle off before we get questioned for snoopin' around the castle, yes? I doubt either of us had a wedding invitation... although... I could always... nah." He shook his head and began to walk off, looking over his shoulder to her. "Are you coming, Miss Starstrike?"

She looked at him, she did have an invitation from Twilight but after this whole event she was pretty tired out. "Y-Yes... I suppose so." She peeked back and gave a soft nod before following after him.

"So, now that the danger's over, I suppose I'll thank you for your company. It certainly was quite the adrenaline rush, eh? What's next on your agenda, Miss Starstrike? Got any grand dreams you're chasin' after?" He smiled to her as they walked through the cobblestones of the town where everypony was straightening things up now that the Changelings were gone.

"Well I was invited here by a friend. This is actually my first visit to Canterlot since I moved to Ponyville not too long ago" She thought on it a bit. "As for a dream... well... I don't believe I really have one that's concrete"

"Oh, I see. It seems like a trendy sort of town, despite the looming castle. The airships seem to be popular, though I have to say I'm a bit fonder of Zeppelins myself..." He trailed off, looking back to her as they moved through a few alleys, before coming upon a blue box. "Ah, well, if you were invited here, perhaps you should go find your friend? Make sure they're alright, after such a scare like that..." He chuckled softly and smiled gently to her, his brilliant blue eyes locking upon hers for a moment.

"No... Twilight's quite alright now." She gave him a smile before looking up towards the box. "What is that?"

"This? It's a great deal of things, really. I'll admit it's a bit out of place in Equestria, but I am still quite fond of it..." He turned his gaze back to the box, moving towards the door and opened it. "It might just blow your mind..." he grinned over his shoulder to her, before the door shut, and within a few moments, the box made the most curious sound as the light atop it flashed, and the box faded away like a ghost.

She blinked and stepped back looking shocked. _What manner of magic is this? But... he's an earth pony... no not magic... something completely scientific! How fantastic!_ She trotted around the spot several times before finally deciding to head back to the Castle, once there she ran into Twilight. "Thank goodness you're alright, I was looking everywhere for you last night. What happened?"

"It's a long… long story. Star, I'd like you to meet the real Cadance." She led her over to her.

Star felt the warmth around her from the other mare and smiled. "It's nice to finally meet the real you." She bowed her head.

Celestia noticed her lack of hat and gave her a long look, her mind wandering somewhere.

"We're going to re-prepare the wedding now that the _real _bride is here." Twilight told her.

"That's great. I'm glad things worked out in the end." She smiled at her, but her mind wandered to the adventure she had. The rush of adrenaline made her feel so alive.

When she finally left Twilight and the others her mind had gone back to wandering to the Doctor, her eyes distant as her mind wandered to the Stallion. She sat in the garden and looked over the many different species of flowers. But she wasn't really looking at them now. _He called himself the Doctor… and he looked so much like the Stallion from my dreams… oh my stars…_ She gave a goofy smile and a soft giggle came up from her. _He does exist! I wasn't just imagining him he's real he's real! _She squealed joyously. But as she kept thinking about the name it had finally dawned on her. _That's the Doctor Spike was talking about…_ Her heart sank and she pouted a little. _He's involved with Twilight Sparkle. _She slumped a little, her ears flattened a little. _Maybe it's not the same stallion! _She perked up. _Maybe it's a stallion that just _looks_ like the one from my visions, that's it, that's all it is. _She smiled a little regaining hope. _I'll find him one day… one day…_ But in her heart she felt she had already found him, her mind was just in denial because of the things she thought she knew about him. Her mind wandered to if she would meet him again, she had no idea how soon it would be.


End file.
